Stir Fried Fish with Sweet Basil and Chili Paste

Stir Fried Fish with Sweet Basil and Chili Paste🌶 (not spicy!)

Before you close this page because the word 'chili' caught your eyes, I want to confirm that this is not a spicy dish (and I'm not just saying that because I am Thai!). This dish uses a type of Thai sweet chili paste that is not spicy at all.

I adapted this recipe from a traditional dish that uses scallops. I chose to use a white fish as it's healthy (much lower cholesterol than shellfish) and easy to find at any supermarket. Dory fish cooks quickly and absorbs flavor well without having any sort of strong fishy smell or taste. You could also use chicken, shrimp, or any other kind of meat as you like. I hope you enjoy this recipe the same as I do!

Makes: 2 serving
Preparation time : 10 minutes
Cooking time : 10 minutes
Total time : 20 minutes

ingredients

liquid ingredients

Thai sweet chili paste

Ingredients

1. Vegetable oil         1 tsp -- I chose Canola oil
2. Dory fish                100 grams  (1 filet)
3. Garlic                      5 cloves
4. Onion                      half an onion
5. Sweet chili paste  1 tbsp
6. Fish sauce              1 tsp
7. Sweet basil            a handful to taste
8. Chili*                       2-3 (optional - just to have a nice color) 

If you don't have Thai chili paste, you can buy it from Amazon through my Affiliates page. I recommend  Maepranom brand, the same that I use when I cook. This is the most widely-used and popular brand in Thailand, and will give you an authentic flavor.

Preparation

1. Chop the garlic into big pieces
2. Chop the onion into cubes
3. Slice the chili and scrape the seeds out using the blunt side of the knife. Then slice the chili into thins strips. By removing the seeds, you will remove most of the capsaicin oil which is what makes chilies spicy. 
4. Pick a handful of sweet basil leaves from the stem
5. Cut the fish in bite size pieces

chopped garlic and onion

slice the chilies open

scrape out the seeds with the edge of the knife

slice the chilies into thin strips

cut fish into large pieces

Instructions

1. Heat vegetable oil in a medium skillet for 3 minutes over medium-high heat.
2. Add chopped garlic to the heated oil, then fry it until it begins to turn golden (keep stirring so as to get an even golden color)
3. Add chopped onion to the skillet and fry until the onions become slightly transparent 
4. Once the garlic and onion are cooked, add the fish to the the skillet
5. Add 1 tbsp chili paste and 1 tsp fish sauce on top of the uncooked fish 
6. Stir all the ingredients well with spatula until the fish is well-coated. Stir until fish is cooked
7. Once you see the fish is completely cooked, turn the heat to low, and add sweet basil and the strips of chili.
8. Fold the basil in with the fish. Then turn off the heat and let the dish set in the skillet for 2 minutes
9. Reserve some of the chili strips to garnish the dish when serving.

cook the garlic in oil

cook the garlic and onions until the garlic turns yellow and the onions are soft

add the fish and chili paste

cook well and stir in the chili paste

add the sweet basil and red chili

Cooking Notes:

• Removing the seeds will remove most of the spicy capsaicin oil, which is what makes chilies spicy. Without seeds, the chilies will be much less spicy and easier to eat.
• You can adjust the balance of sweet and savory by yourself to taste. If you want this dish to be saltier, I would recommend to not add more fish sauce but use salt instead, to avoid a strong fishy smell.
• The type of chili used depends on what you have at the market. Try to choose one without a strong smell, as it's mostly to add color and a tiny bit of flavor. Bell pepper is not recommend.
•  If you use another type of meat, the cooking time will change. The original dish uses scallops. I will show you how to cook scallops properly in a later post, and also how to avoid muddy scallops.
• This dish is good with rice :) 

completed dish

Thai Stir Fried Fish with Sweet Basil and Chili Paste